Dragon Gate USA – Mercury Rising 2011 – 2nd April 2011
After a surprisingly engaging stop-off in North Carolina, DGUSA’s WrestleMania 2011 weekend kicks off in earnest tonight. The rest of the big name imports have arrived to bolster the strength of the card and, of course, we have a hot show on hand as Gabe looks to do battle with the host of other promotions piggybacking on the WWE’s biggest show of the year. The annual Dragon Gate trios extravaganza is top of the bill - a tradition that started back in 2006 in Ring Of Honor that DGUSA has continued since its inception. This year’s instalment has plenty of heat on it too, as the warring factions of Blood Warriors and Ronin lock horns. Austin Aries makes what have been hyped as his final appearances for DGUSA, looking to ‘find his purpose’ in the business as he challenges YAMATO for the Open The Freedom Gate Championship. The other serious highlight on the undercard is Pac defending his Open The Brave Gate Title against Akira Tozawa. Leonard Chikarason and Lenny Leonard are live in Atlanta, GA – for what was DGUSA’s first ever in-house ippv on WWNLive.
In 2010 DGUSA smoked ROH with their choice of venue for WrestleMania weekend. In 2011, it’s quite the reversal. ‘World famous’ or not, the Presidential Ballroom isn’t a patch on the Center Stage venue Ring Of Honor secured for their Atlanta weekend.
Arik Cannon vs Jon Moxley
The Anarchist comes into this having won the Breakout Challenge the previous evening in North Carolina. It seems that star is now very much on the rise in DGUSA, so he now looks to test himself against the leader of Kamikaze USA. Jon Moxley’s form has been indifferent of late, after losses against BxB Hulk and Naruki Doi, as well as taking a massive beating from arch rival Homicide, on recent Dragon Gate USA shows.
DGUSA are seriously booking porn stars. Moxley has not one, but TWO adult video stars in his corner tonight with Val Malone joining Trina Michaels. He’s also the kind of asshole who will jump his opponent from behind then choke him with his shirt. Cannon recovers by back dropping him out of the ring, but finds himself tripped up by one of the porn stars before he can hit a dive. Mox capitalises with a Dreamer DDT for 2. Did Lenny Leonard just shill Pornhub.com??? A sleeper hold comes close to choking Arik out…before he escapes then ducks under a lariat to hit Moxley with a swinging neckbreaker. Exploder suplex follows that for a nearfall, which finally gets a portion of the crowd behind Cannon. Total Anarchy countered to a Gringo Cutter though. Moxley tries to bring a chair in but misses and it winds up ricocheting into his own face…allowing Cannon to nail the corkscrew brainbuster. Val Malone stops the ref counting…and Mox low blows Arik for victory at 07:31
Rating - ** - On the bright side, I’m glad Moxley actually won a match (I don’t consider the Homicide match at United Finale a victory for him btw)…but that finish was just appalling. I understand the logic of wanting to give Moxley a much-needed win, yet also protect Cannon who just won the Breakout Challenge and has a big angle coming up. But this finish didn’t protect Arik at all – it made him look like an idiot who is distracted by porn stars when he should be working.
Reby Sky tries to interrupt the celebration, so Moxley tosses Val Malone at her. Whilst Reby tussles with her, Trina lays out Sky with one of her shoes. Mox and Trina then celebrate without much concern for Val…
Austin Aries tries his best to look like a superstar whilst standing in a dingy little room. He ponders whether he has a purpose in DGUSA…and decides he will ‘find’ one by defeating YAMATO for the Freedom Gate Championship tonight.
Stalker Ichikawa vs AR Fox vs Silas Young vs Jon Davis vs Brodie Lee vs Jimmy Jacobs
This is actually being contested under elimination rules, making it slightly different from the usual Frays and Freestyles DGUSA runs. Lee stands tall as the man to beat – the enforcer in Blood Warriors and the man who holds recent victories over both Jacobs and Davis. Jimmy is desperate for a Freedom Gate Title shot but went 0-3 over United weekend so is further away than ever. Davis sucked on his debut so knows he needs a strong rebound. AR Fox has impressed many with his performances and will have been disappointed with his failure to even make the finals in last night’s Breakout Challenge. Silas has appeared on DGUSA pre-shows and for Evolve, but is still looking to make a real impression on the WWNLive promotions. That leaves us with the debuting Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa. He is a beloved comedy wrestler in Dragon Gate, whom US fans had been waiting to see pretty much since DGUSA’s inception.
Fox seriously looks like he’s wrestling in women’s pants. Stalker greets him by ripping off his costume ears and making to use them like weapons. He then runs away as Davis, Young and Fox all try to chase him. Brodie tries to squash him with a big elbow drop…which Ichi avoids then lectures everyone else in the match for being mean to him. SLAPS to everyone in the match! He pulls off the Kancho (ass poke) on Brodie as well, which of course gets him MURDERED by the Big Rig. The four Americans want to join forces and take out Lee, and Stalker is on board with that. Until he comedy botches a handspring elbow and lands on his head. Davis, who turned himself heel by being terrible last night, then goes heel in Atlanta too by decapitating Stalker with a lariat then eliminating him at 03:19. RUNNING RANA BY BRODIE LEE! TOPE SUICIDAAAAA! Brodie’s agility legitimately gets a standing ovation. In the ring AR ditches Young…then dives OVER THE TURNBUCKLES INTO A SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Jacobs teases a dive, but instead drags Stalker back in to do it for him. SUICIDE DIVE MISSES! Poor Stalker! Stratusfaction from Fox to Davis, followed by a corkscrew Arabian Press, only for Brodie to break his pinfall with a brutal superkick. Young somehow muscles Brodie into a German suplex for 2. KICKFLIP DIVE TO THE FLOOR BY FOX! He then dives back in with the flying Codebreaker on Silas. DOUBLE REBOUND CUTTER! DOUBLE CONTRA CODE BY JACOBS! He eliminates AR at 08:20. POUUUUUUNCE by Davis! Killer Combo by Silas! End Time from Jacobs to Lee! Silas tries to capitalise…END TIME ON HIM! COUNTERED TO THE PEE GEE WAJA PLUNGE! Jacobs avoids it and goes back to End Time, making Silas tap at 10:57. The former Age Of The Fall colleagues Jacobs and Lee join forces – hitting a Big Boot/crucifix driver combo on Davis to eliminate him at 11:23. Jacobs has eliminated three guys from the match, but now has the massive trucker standing between him and victory. Brodie dusts off another End Time with the Big Boot, but as he tries to powerbomb Jimmy on the floor Jacobs counters (eventually) with a rana into the guardrails. CONTRA CODE ON THE FLOOR! Back inside…Contra Code there as well, but only good enough for 2. ROPE RUN BUTTERFLY SUPERPLEX BY BRODIE! BIG BOOT! TRUCK STOP! Lee wins at 13:55
Rating - **** - I thought everyone looked great in this one. I could have done with Stalker lasting longer than guys like Silas and Davis (who have done nothing in DGUSA) but on the whole this felt well booked, whilst consistently exciting and entertaining. Stalker got his comedy in early, before staring at the lights to give Gabe’s new project Jon Davis a boost. The storyline of Jacobs wanting a title shot but never getting close to it continued as he defeated three guys, but ultimately didn’t win the match. The lesser known talents of Fox, Silas and Davis all got protected as all they needed to do was hit their signature spots cleanly…and I loved the fact that Brodie basically dominated from start to finish to continue his own reign of dominance over the Dragon Gate landscape. As this was a spotfest which packed in genuine comedy and strong story-telling amongst the usual barrage of high spots I felt I wanted to go generously high on my rating.
Arik Cannon thinks he got ‘f*cked’ tonight. He is doing things ‘his way’ from now on…
Masato Yoshino vs Sami Callihan
Callihan looked awesome over United weekend, during which time he stated his intention to get involved at the business end of the DGUSA promotion. He backed up those words with a strong performance in the Blood Warriors vs Team Jacobs 8-man at United Finale – and continued with a dominant victory over Rich Swann last night as part of the Stable Shootout. His star is on the rise, but tonight he aims still higher as he faces the Open The Dream Gate (and Open The United Gate) Champion in a non-title showdown.
Callihan lays down an immediate marker by somehow keeping up with Yoshino as he runs the ropes, then clobbering him with a running elbow. The Dream Gate Champion struggles against the unrelenting physicality of his opponent and is repeatedly battered into the canvas. It takes almost four minutes for him to land something – sprinting into the Sling Blade then collapsing to the ground. From Jungle follows, then a flying double stomp to Sami’s striking arm. Callihan misses the ‘Flying Squirrel Splash’, and Yoshino capitalises with a missile dropkick…which he had to adjust from his normal execution because the room isn’t tall enough for him. Torbellino blocked so again Yoshi attacks Sami’s striking arm. LARIAT ANYWAY! SAMOAN PILEDRIVER! Yoshino barely kicks out from that. They go back and forth on the mat like crazy, until Yoshino drops Sami ON HIS NECK with the Lightning Spiral. Torbellino! Sol Naciente applied…and Sami quits at 09:27
Rating - *** - I wasn’t ready for this one to be over. It wasn’t quite the coming out party for Callihan that Gargano had with CIMA at Open The Southern Gate, but damn was this ever an impressive performance by him. He dominated the Dream Gate Champion for long periods and looked extremely capable. If United weekend and his match with Swann weren’t enough to convince Gabe that this is a guy he should be pushing, then this certainly will be. Credit to Yoshino for working so hard to help Sami get over too.
Callihan grabs a microphone and says he’s done ‘f*cking around’ before walking out. Both he and Arik Cannon have been pretty cryptic tonight...
Jon Moxley pops up backstage to call Austin Aries ‘out of style’. He thinks YAMATO is going to take A-Double out of DGUSA.
Pac vs Akira Tozawa – Open The Brave Gate Title Match
The Brave Gate Title is considered the secondary singles championship in Dragon Gate Japan, and is being defended for the US for the first time in years (Matt Sydal successfully defended it against Aries in ROH several years previously). Pac represents World-1 and has been in scintillating form whenever he steps into a DGUSA ring…but tonight he has his work cut out with one of the fastest rising stars in the world. Tozawa is out of Kamikaze USA and now stands alone. With wins over Austin Aries and BxB Hulk in his last two singles matches Pac will know his title reign is in serious jeopardy.
The head wound Pac suffered at the hands of Tozawa last night is still very visible. Tozawa starts by trying to keep the athletic Englishman on the deck. He starts smacking Pac’s neck, hitting him with such force that the champion is forcibly driven from the ring. When Pac re-enters he faces a battery of kicks to the neck and cravat stretches, and it is clear Akira is set on testing his neck strength. He counters some Pac offence into a snap brainbuster then grinds on it again with a snug rear chinlock. Pac simply can’t get any distance from his challenger, and takes another boot to the face even as he backs into the corner. He knows he needs to quicken the pace and gets an opportunity to do so when he counters Apron Kara Tozawa with a double boot to the face. He wastes no time in taking flight, hitting a standing SSP for 2. It’s noticeable that the cut on his forehead that he sustained last night has now opened up again, with blood spilling from it at an alarming rate. RUNNING BOOT TO THE HEAD BY TOZAWA! ELBOW SUICIDA FLURRY! CANNONBALL OFF THE APRON! BACK DROP DRIVER! Pac kicks out somehow, but is in real trouble after that stunning offensive surge. CHAOS THEORY BACK DROP DRIVER! Pac shows his resilience by nailing a springboard dropkick, then pops right back up to do the same thing straight into the back of Akira’s head for 2. SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH NAILED! Both combatants march to the middle of the ring and pile into each other with elbow strikes until neither can stand. Tozawa rocks Pac with a Shining Wizard but is so beaten up he has nothing left in the tank after hitting it. Bicycle kicks in the corner crumple the champ once more, only for him to fight back with the SNAP GERMAN SUPLEX! TOZAWA NO SELLS! BICYCLE KICK TO THE NECK! HEAD DROP GERMAN ON PAC! BOTH MEN DOWN! Neither man have much left but they are still killing each other with strikes. SECOND ROPE PHOENIX SPLASH MISSES! RUNNING GANKI! PAC KICKS OUT! EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX! STILL 2! Pac blocks a Straight Jacket German then converts Tozawa to a bridging German for the win at 19:39
Rating - **** - What a phenomenal bout to stuff into your midcard. This kind of spectacle is why DGUSA is such a premier product on the independent wrestling scene. Tozawa is a stunning young talent from Japan, whilst Pac is a potential global superstar from the UK…and they come together in this promotion in the US to deliver a hell of a battle. Tozawa repeatedly attacked Pac’s neck, looking to beat the snot out of his high-flying adversary and force victory that way. But Pac withstood everything the challenger threw at him – and eventually showed what an outstanding competitor he is by defeating Tozawa at his own game (i.e. strikes and big suplexes rather than using a big high spot finish). It’s worth pointing out that the crowd were terrific here too.
Blood Warriors storm the ring after the match, quickly laying out both Pac and his tag partner Masato Yoshino. CIMA says that he and Doi will win the United Gate Title tomorrow night…
Ronin are backstage, and pumped to participate in the traditional Mania weekend trios tag. Gargano says this year's is going to be a fight…
The post-intermission popcorn match is all set to be a tag bout featuring talent who impressed during a training seminar held earlier in the day. Sami Callihan interrupts them and single-handedly destroys two of the participants (the Sin City Saints) – apparently looking to vent some frustration after losing to Yoshino earlier. Arik Cannon comes out, and it turns out he’s pretty pissed off too. He kills the other two seminar guys…then brawls to the back with Callihan. Kind of a weird segment, but with the benefit of hindsight we know it was going somewhere…
Pac looks seriously messed up after two days of competition this weekend. Tomorrow night he and Yoshino somehow have to defend the United Gate Title against the Blood Warriors…and he informs that group that NOW his attention is on them.
YAMATO vs Austin Aries – Open The Freedom Gate Title Match
I’m not sure if this is chronologically the first defence of the Freedom Gate for YAMATO as he may have defended it in Japan already, but this is the first time he defends it in a DGUSA ring – and he has a hell of a challenger. Aries has been in Dragon Gate USA since the latter part of 2010, and whilst his in-ring performances have been outstanding, he doesn’t feel like he’s really serving any great purpose by being there and is just drifting around in the midcard. He has been teasing quitting DGUSA if things don’t go well this weekend, and looks to ‘find his purpose’ tonight by becoming the top guy in the company. He’s also not happy that YAMATO likes using the Kick Of Death/Brainbuster sequence that he rose to prominence with. YAMATO himself seems up for the match, and sends Jon Moxley to the back before the match because he wants to be a ‘fighting champion’
Lenny Leonard does an outstanding job framing Austin’s motivation for competing here. They both start tentatively, looking to avoid making an early mistake. Yamato emphasises how honourable he is by giving his challenger a clean break…ARIES GIVES HIM THE BRAINBUSTER! 450 SPLASH NAILED! YAMATO KICKS OUT! That’s how important winning the title is to Aries it seems. He continues to be extremely aggressive, taking the fight outside and launching the champion into the front row. Yamato is in full retreat mode, with his legs now taking a battering from the persistent A-Double. IED TO THE KNEE! It’s followed by a leg stunner in the ropes and leaves Yamato with no choice but to hide under the ring. That’s a classic strategy deployed by Yamato – as he bursts out from behind Austin, shoving him off the top rope then attacking him with a broom handle. It’s the champ’s turn to pick apart a leg, and since that’s a strategy he utilises way more often than Aries he’s able to do it far more successfully. Trailer Hitch locked in, forcing Aries to crawl along the mat looking for an escape. He does so…only to see his attempt at the Power Drive Elbow countered right back into a Figure 4. That’s a hold that A-Double can counter though, causing more damage to Yamato’s legs when he does so. He follows up with the Power Drive Elbow second time around…leaving both men down. Doujime Sleeper blocked…into a NECK DROP GERMAN! Once again Yamato hides under the ring to escape, but this time Aries has the tactic scouted and wipes him out with the HEAT SEEKING MISSILE INTO THE GUARDRAILS! He gets 2 after dragging Yamato back in with an elevated swinging neckbreaker. Brainbuster blocked, seemingly with his knee in pain. Yamato goes for the Kick Of Death, which Aries ducks to nail him with a shinbreaker/dragon screw combo (a change from the usual sequence he goes for)…then tangles up the legs with a seated cloverleaf. Second time around he tries the shinbreaker/back suplex combo, only to see it countered into a half crab. Austin escapes only to walk into the SLEEPER SUPLEX. EXPLODER SUPLEX OVER THE TOP ROPE! It’s Aries’ turn to crawl away, making it to the side of the ring so he can give Yamato a DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON THE APRON! He’s too worn down to capitalise though, and they both fight up the turnbuckles. Superplex nailed by Yamato…before both guys hook up each others legs in a double pin for 2. Shinbreaker by Aries…INTO A F*CKING HEAD DROP DRIVER! ROLLING IED’S! BRAINBUSTER GETS 2! Yamato dodges the 450 Splash and gives him the KICK OF DEATH! KICK OF DEATH BY ARIES! BRAINBUSTER BY YAMATO! ONE COUNT OF DISRESPECT! GALLERIA COUNTERED TO ARIES’ BRAINBUSTER…STILL 2! ROARING ELBOW DUEL! GALLERIA NAILED! ARIES KICKS OUT! He crawls to his knees into REPEATED KICKS OF DEATH! GALLERIA AGAIN! Yamato retains at 25:24
Rating - **** - This was an absolute war. It wasn’t always pretty, but it had a real gritty and authentic quality that was absolutely riveting to watch. A lot of the leg work they did went nowhere, wasn’t sold worth a damn and accomplished little more than killing time, but the way they conveyed Aries’ desperation to win was a thing of real beauty. The crowd were pretty evenly split at the start – but by the end everyone in the building was roaring themselves hoarse willing the veteran on to victory. After 20+ minutes of foreplay, the raging climax in the last few minutes was breathtaking – packed full of counters, head drops and completely believable false finishes. I’m a massive fan of both guys and they delivered the goods in a major way here.
YAMATO grabs his belt, salutes Aries then leaves quickly. The fans give Austin a standing ovation and plead with him not to quit. Tomorrow night he faces Jimmy Jacobs in what will now be his final match in Dragon Gate USA.
Backstage Jimmy Jacobs is disappointed. He lost to Brodie Lee again, and Aries’ loss to YAMATO means he doesn’t have a Freedom Gate Title Match tomorrow. Instead tomorrow is about sending his old rival (Aries) away with a loss that will catapult him into the Freedom Gate picture.
Johnny Gargano/Chuck Taylor/Rich Swann vs CIMA/Naruki Doi/Ricochet
The Dragon Gate WrestleMania weekend 6-man has been a tradition for years…but tonight is possibly the first time it’s contained such an intense grudge match. The renegade American trio of Swann, Taylor and Gargano (Ronin) have been in CIMA’s bad books for a long time. CIMA never wanted to recruit Gargano for his stable, Chuck Taylor rejected him when was offered a spot – and together they formed a group looking to take them from undercard/pre-show workers all the way to the main events in Dragon Gate – in both the US and Japan. We’ve seen brawls, beatdowns and sneak attacks. We saw Ronin complete an unlikely clean sweep when they defeated both Blood Warriors teams during United weekend…only for the Warriors to get some revenge last night when they ‘won’ all four matches in the Stable Shootout. Can the Warriors finally beat down the cocky American punks, or will the meteoric rise of Ronin lead them all the way to victory in DGUSA’s signature match?
The Blood Warriors’ entrance features them assaulting Stalker Ichikawa for absolutely no reason. Larry Legend has to take cover as well, with Cima fighting through a hail of streamers to get the match started. He is soon brawling with arch-rival Gargano, as on the floor old enemies Taylor and Ricochet are squaring off. The Warriors split off and try to isolate Swann, hitting him with a Broken Arrow combo followed by a flying double stomp to the guts. Swann’s response is to SOMERSAULT away from Ricochet…only for Cima to ambush Gargano. Everything those two guys do together is incredibly intense after their battle the previous evening. Ronin join forces to hit a rapid fire triple boot flurry on the ‘Dragon Gate Icon’, cementing an advantage for them for the first time. Ricochet tries to come to Cima’s aid, but gets kicked in the head as he lines up a standing moonsault. Skullf*ck by Taylor, but in the blink of an eye Rico has back flipped into a headscissors, propelling Johnny into the Blood Warrior corner and turning the tide in their favour. They work Gargano over for a couple of minutes…then give Swann the same treatment after Doi attacks him from behind. Cima spits an IMPOSSIBLY large amount of saliva into Rich’s face as part of that. Elevated Superdrol combo nailed, after which Cima and Doi mock Ronin’s goofy dance moves. Head kick/backbreaker/somersault senton combo by all three Warriors, followed by a DOUBLE CURB STOMP FLURRY! DOUBLE CURB STOMP ON A CHAIR! Swann is out on his feet now, flipping in mid-air like Spiderman, but achieving nothing except getting dropkicked into the turnbuckles. VERTICAL LEAP SUPER RANA! LEAP FROM SWANN POND! Finally he gets a hot tag! HANGING GARGANO ESCAPE ON CIMA! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OVER THEM TO THE FLOOR BY TAYLOR! Ricochet trips Gargano on the apron, but he recovers quickly to give Doi the Slingshot Spear. ASAI MOONSAULT BY TAYLOR! FIVE STAR SWANN SPLASH! FOR 2! Sole Food on Doi gets another nearfall, before Naruki decimates Chucky T with slaps and the violent hanging dropkick. Awful Waffle countered to a Rydien Bomb! The battle weary Swann slips on the ropes, falling into Cima’s clutches and an electric chair Edge-O-Matic. JUMPING ROCKER DROPPER OFF CIMA’S BACK by Rich! Rico wipes him out again with a running SSP off Doi’s back moments later though. Lionsault attempted by Ricochet…but he sails into a Gargano dropkick. LAWN DART! STANDING BACK FLIP SENTON BY RICOCHET! DOUBLE HURTZ DONUT ON CIMA AND RICO! Swann then gets 2 on Cima with a standing moonsault…who gets back up and ICONOCLASMS him on top of Gargano. HEAD DROP REVERSE RANA from Ricochet to Taylor gets 2. DOI 555 ON SWANN! BAKATARE SLIDING KICK! GARGANO SAVES! DAI BOSOU! STEREO VAN TERMINATORS BY CIMA AND RICOCHET! SCHWEIN! METEORA! MUSCULAR BOMB! Doi wins at 25:53
Rating - **** - Pretty much everything you expect these matches to be. This felt a lot more disjointed than some I’ve seen, and had a couple of pretty obvious botches (the less said about Ricochet’s failed dive at the end the better) – but what it lacked in fluidity compared to some others it more than made up for in intensity. I really felt that, at it’s core this one remained a legitimate grudge match between two rival factions rather than a stunt show. Of course there were spots a-plenty at the end, but I think the six men should be credited for ensuring their feud remained centre stage throughout. I also really liked that Swann was the guy who took the losing fall – considering he was the one who bore the brunt of the Blood Warriors’ heat segment in the middle portion of the match.
Masato Yoshino and Pac run in looking to even the score from earlier and send a message ahead of tomorrow night. Unfortunately they are outnumbered and they soon back off once Brodie Lee gets involved. CIMA once again vows to take their United Gate Title.
Tape Rating - **** - A fantastic contribution to WrestleMania weekend from the DGUSA guys. The Moxley/Cannon match that got us underway wasn’t great, but after that everything was SO good. Callihan delivered another superb individual performance in his match with Yoshino, the six-man elimination spotfest was a blast on a number of different levels…and the three main event matches were all kinds of must-see good. Given how good ROH’s Honor Takes Center Stage shows were this year as well – wrestling fans had a HELL of weekend!
Top 3 Matches
3) Pac vs Akira Tozawa (****)
2) CIMA/Naruki Doi/Ricochet vs Johnny Gargano/Chuck Taylor/Rich Swann (****)
1) YAMATO vs Austin Aries (****)